Summit Schools To Receive $597,811 in State Aid

Summit Public Schools will receive $597,811 in state aid under Gov. Chris Christie's budget proposal for the 2011-2012 school year. The money is specifically itemized for special education.

"I am not yet familiar with the "conditions" of the aid," Board of Education President Jack Lyness said Wednesday night via e-mail. "This is obviously great news, as it may allow us to present a budget with no tax increase at all."

Christie promised in his budget address Tuesday every district in the state would see an aid increase—part of a $250 million boost to education aid overall.

"This was also unexpected, frankly, and its nice to see suburban districts get some aid," Lyness said in the e-mail.

Last year, the governor sharply reduced aid to schools, including several in Union County. Some, including Summit, saw their state aid eliminated entirely. At the time, many districts had been making plans for their budgets based on suggestions of more modest cuts by the state Department of Education.

"I agonized over making cuts to education aid last year," the governor said in his budget address. "They were the very last cuts I approved. It was not a decision I took lightly. It was not something I wanted to do. However, in a year where shared sacrifice was required from everyone, it was a necessary choice."

But he said hard decisions made over the last year allowed for some increase this year. Many districts will still receive less than they did prior to 2010-2011, however. In Union County, schools will get more than $13 million more in aid than last year.

In proposals tied to his budget, the governor is also pushing for reform to tenure, and for public employees to take on much of the cost associated with their benefits. He's also pushing for associated pension reforms. 

"The need for reform, of course, is more urgent than ever. ... We need to reward excellent teachers, put an end to automatic tenure, and give parents trapped in failing schools a choice for a better future for their children. Once and for all, we must reward excellence and there must be consequences for failure. This is the way it is all across America – we must finally bring it to all of New Jersey’s classrooms," Christie said.

Last year, the Board of Education proposed a budget with a 5.6 percent tax levy increase however Common Council voted to . However the decrease in funding was weathered fairly well with only minor cuts to extra-curricular activities at the Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School and Summit High School.

Lyness said last week the Board was preparing a budget that would increase taxes by less than one percent.

"We are very fortunate–and appreciative of the efforts of (Superintendent) Dr. (Nathan) Parker and his administrative team–to be able to preserve program without any tax increase," Lyness said. "Having said that, our budget and our longer term objectives are very dependent on achieving a settlement with the Summit Education Association which is consistent with the financial constraints under which we continue to operate."